National and Institutional Perspectives on Metrics Based Research Evaluation

Publisher

ISI Web of Knowledge Australia

Publication Year

2009

Sub-type

Fully published paper

Language

eng

Abstract/Summary

One of the most common methods for assessing the performance of universities is bibliometric analysis based on fields of research. Most commonly for broad sectorwide studies, fields of research are defined by journal sets, usually utilising existing lists such as the Web of Science subject categories. However these journal sets do not always align well with Australia’s standard Fields of Research classification scheme – the scheme used for reporting most higher education data, and the scheme against which most policy analysts expect assessments to be made. In addition, many existing systems have considerable overlap between the journal sets for related fields, leaving analysts in a quandary about what it is exactly that is being assessing. Today’s presentation will provide an overview of some of the benefits for bibliometric analysis in Australia that have flowed from the construction of a completely new series of journal set. It will also present empirical evidence to demonstrate the effect of these changes on citation benchmarks.